Thames Lily Potter?
by Stewburrey
Summary: Thames. Her mother used to tell her it was an unusual but lovely name, though that was years ago since she last heard it, anyways. Lily Potter is dead. And surprisingly, Severus Snape, whom everyone sees as sinister and mean picked up the red-haired little girl after her parents were killed, and brought her up as his own.
1. Severus Snape's Attic

Thames. It's an unusual name. An unusual but lovely British name. Or at least that was what her mother used to tell her.

Thames lay by the window, on the floor, pulling her covers over her head because of the sunlight. The triangular window was indeed too big, and too low. It's touching the floor and the ceiling, gosh. She sat up and brushed some of her dark red hair out of her sleepy face, illuminated to be extra pale by the sunlight.

She looked around. Scattered on the floor were pages of notes about potions, and a large cauldron half-full with some simmering purple liquid bubbling. In a corner stood a shabby-looking cabinet, filled with different ingredients. The top of the shelf was filled with the potions ingredients she cherished the most. Just as she was staring around, an idea flew into her head and she picked up a quill from somewhere nearby and scribbled it on a piece of parchment. That was the attic. That was Severus Snape's house's attic.

Thames looked out the window again. Next door was the house where Lily Evans grew up. That was where her mother grew up. She looked down. The fence was where Lily Evans and Severus Snape met. That's where Severus Snape fell in love, for the first and the last time in his life.

She got up and walked to the bubbling cauldron. She picked up a book from the floor and read. Yes, it was in the correct state. So she walked to the cabinet, picked some beetroot and antler horns, and found a grinder. She ground the horns and walked back to the cauldron, tipped half of the horn dust in, stirred clockwise three times, then added the beetroot, stirred anticlockwise twice, and waited.

"I don't advise potion-making at 7 in the morning when you haven't got dressed or brushed your teeth or even combed your hair. And you still have a foggy mind. You're wasting my ingredients," said a cold voice.

"Oh Severus, a bit of beetroot won't hurt! And I will restore the ingredients in Diagon Alley with the salary I have from working in that bookshop," Thames said rather joyfully.

Snape sighed. "You needn't do that," he said. Thames smiled wider. She walked to another corner of the attic, dug around and found a hair band. She tied her dark red hair into a ponytail. She turned and stared at Snape with her twinkling brown eyes. "Today's toast again?" she asked. Snape nodded but didn't speak.

"Well then I'm getting changed. Wait for a while downstairs." Snape walked down the staircases, squeaking with each step. Right. The attic didn't have doors. But she was fine with it any way.

She headed for the dresser not far from the spot she found the hair band and pulled out a T-shirt a size too big for her and a pair of jeans. The T-shirt, along with four others, were bought three years ago-- they were three sizes too big for her back then. It's still a size too big even now.

She often wondered why Snape decided to foster her. He himself barely buys new robes in five years, unless it's an unamendable hole or the robe was too tattered, which rarely happened because he'd always brewed special potions for the robes.

Thames headed down the stairs and saw two pieces of toast lying on a square plate on the chipped table. Severus really wasn't one to use new things unless necessary. He would usually get attached to stuff. Like he did to Lily.

"You better finish fast, I'm leaving," Severus said, his back facing Thames. Thames laughed to herself. "Oh right, it's late August now! You're going back to Hogwarts." "And I hope a ten-year-old won't blow up my house while I'm away," Severus glared half-heartedly. Thames leant back on her chair. "It's not the first time, Severus. You leave me here every year."

She knew that despite how cold Severus could be in every aspect, he was a warm, soft person inside. Or else why wouldn't he take her under his care almost ten years ago? She smiled at Severus. The man surely had the looks to intimidate everyone around him, without his sneers and manners of treating pupils.

Severus frowned. "You'll be attending Hogwarts next year, you better discipline yourself." Thames chuckled and got up. She picked up a piece of toast and began munching it. "I'm Thames Evans," she muttered, lost in her thoughts as she ate. That was a bad habit of hers. She would get lost in herself whenever she ate.

"Yes. Thames Lily Evans," Severus murmured back absent-mindedly. Thames thought. "I was found in Godric's Hollow…? On the day of Hallowe'en?" "Night," Severus said softly. "Why?" Thames whispered to herself.

She had no idea why often when she was murmuring like this to herself, Severus would usually either assist her tracing her thoughts or joining in muttering with her. "I was one back then?" "You were born not long before, 9th June." "And my surname is Evans?" "Yes." "Why?" Severus winced a bit. "Potter," he scoffed. That was enough for Thames to acknowledge Severus simply loathed the name Potter and hence she was given her mother's name instead of her father's.

"Potter… Harry Potter…?" Severus flinched a bit. "Yes. Harry James Potter." "31st July… a few months younger than me. And he's my brother?" "...Yes." Severus said, almost unwillingly. Thames didn't ask why she and her brother could be born only months apart.

Thames thought of a photo she saw in her books, _Famous Wizards of Modern Times, A Study In The Unforgivable Curses_, etc etc. He had dark hair and green eyes. And a lightning scar.

"Why don't I have that scar?" "You weren't in the house." "But I was found in Godric's Hollow? In the ruins?" Severus stayed silent. He didn't know why. "We look so different," Thames wondered out loud. She had straight dark red hair to the length of her shoulders that resembled her mother's; and brown eyes that looked exactly like her dad's.

"I'm leaving," Severus said. The thick silence and Thames's train of thoughts snapped. "To see Albus?" she asked. "Professor Dumbledore. Have some respect." Thames grinned.

"Can I go to Hogsmeade?" she asked, running to follow Severus down the hall. His cloak swept behind him like always. "...Get your cloak. You're not going to visit the only full-wizard inhabited village in Great Britain looking like a complete Muggle," Severus said after a moment of consideration.


	2. Exploring Hogwarts with a Niffler?

Thames rushed upstairs to grab her black-and-white tartan cloak. It looked a bit like a raincoat, if she were to be honest.

She threw it over her Muggle clothes. Then she grabbed her satchel, always filled with her "outdoor essentials": a book, a leather pouch which always contained her money and a scarf just in case. She gripped onto Severus's arm, excited, for side-along Apparition. Severus didn't even need to spin, which was normally required for wizards and witches.

And there they were, at the gates of the Hogsmeade village. "I will pick you up in The Three Broomsticks at ten," said Severus, and he headed towards the greater gates of Hogwarts.

I'm going there next year, Thames thought enthusiastically to herself. Which house would she be sorted into? She hoped it wouldn't be Gryffindor. They were far too noisy and reckless, in her opinion.

But now probably wasn't time to worry about that. She still had a whole year, after all. She raced along the crowded streets and round a corner. After she turned there was barely a person there, however. She walked along and turned again at a nook. There stood a shabby cottage that almost blended in with others, except it had smoke coming from its chimney. "Hog's Head" was stamped across the wall.

"Aberforth?" Thames asked as she creaked open the door. An old man behind the counter looked up and glared. "Why are you here, girl?" "Severus has gone to meet Albus," Thames said. There was a moment of hesitation inside her head; Aberforth didn't really appreciate his brother because of an incident that happened in their youth, but Thames didn't get the chance to ask further.

Just like Thames guessed, Aberforth huffed in disagreement. "Well, girl, what do you want?" "Ariana's portrait. I've got something to discuss with Peeves." Aberforth eyed her. Then he headed through a door to walk on a set of steep, narrow staircase. Thames skipped to follow. "Do your own business," said Aberforth upon entering the room, pouring himself a cup of tea and sinking into the dusty armchair.

Thames smiled as she approached the portrait of Ariana Dumbledore. She was a beautiful girl, to be honest. Thames wondered where she was now as neither Dumbledore brothers talk about her often, nor had Thames ever seen her anywhere. The portrait swung forward and a little tunnel behind came into view. "Thanks, Ariana," Thames whispered as she crawled into the tunnel.

The tunnel was pretty dark. Perhaps she should take a torch next time. Thames felt that she nearly stepped onto something, something furry. "What is it?" she mumbled to herself, and crouched down. If only I could perform some charm, Thames thought as she touched the unknown creature. Annoyed with herself, she muttered "Lumos" with sarcasm and irony in her voice. To her surprise, her fingertip lit up. "Whoa-- okay… that's weird." Because as far as she'd known, normal wizards and witches don't do that with their _fingertips_.

But she couldn't be distracted. She looked down and saw a baby Niffler. She dropped her jaw and wondered how she could have nearly squashed such a cute little creature with her boot. "Oh, here, here," she said, her other palm reaching out to the Niffler. "Gosh. Let's stay in there. It's warmer than here outside." The Niffler was dripping wet and shivering as thames gently put it inside her pocket. She stared at her finger. "...Nox?" the beam slowly dimmed on her finger. Thames shrugged and continued her way.

When she came out, she was in the Room of Requirements. The end of the tunnel was always in the Room of Requirements.Thames slowly pushed the heavy door open, looking out for any passerby. She remembered the shivering fur ball in her pocket, so she closed the door, waited for it to vanish, and walked back and forth in front of it three times, focusing on needing a place to make the Niffler better.

When she pushed the door again, she saw a fireplace and a cabinet filled with towels. The room had become rather small, which wasn't a bad thing as the room could become warmer than if it was bigger.

Thames set the petite Niffler onto one of the fluffy towels and moved it to near the fire. The Niffler made a squeaking sound and Thames stared at it fondly.

"Do you think Severus will let me keep you? As a pet?" she wondered to the Niffler, now rolling around to dry itself. It stared at her, then leapt to grab something.

"Stop it!" Thames giggled as she pulled the Niffler off her shoes' metallic buckles.

She absent-mindedly stroked the drying Niffler as she continued to wonder what happened to Ariana Dumbledore. She had known Aberforth Dumbledore rather by accident, when she was eavesdropping on a gang of teenagers planning on egging houses, and, unfortunately, was found out. Her tiny figure wove in and out of cottages while the teenagers shot stunnig spells and her, several missing her by an ear and most hitting random surrondings of her.

Then a tall teen 'got tired of this bullshit' (as he said) and Apparated in front of Thames. (He obviously didn't have a license, and left an eyebrow behind, but he didn't care that much.)

"Expelliarmus!" he screamed, and the spell hit her fair and square. But there was nothing to disarm Thames of, really. She staggered back a bit, and dashed to the nearest door she saw.

Long story short, Aberforth scared the teenagers away. No one would like to talk about how he did that. And that, was how Thames met Aberforth.

Thames turned her attention back to the Niffler. He looked definitely better than in that dark muddy tunnel. "Alright, so let's go, shall we?" Thames said cheerfully, picking up the Niffler.

She had come inside to roam in Hogwarts for a while, after all. The Niffler was just a surprise she found. It is her goal to explore every corner of Hogwarts.


	3. Top Priority: Escaping Filch

"Keep quiet," she whispered to the squirming lump in her pocket as she crept along the walls of Hogwarts.

She kept her ears perked in case anyone was coming in her direction, and eyes strained for any sudden movement from any object.

She was creeping along into the Entrance Hall when a cold voice suddenly issued from the Hall.

"Quirrell, I do hope you will take cautious care of my son," it said, echoes bouncing off the walls.

"I-I will, Mr M-Malfoy," another voice, a timid one, answered.

"Alright then, Draco, you may explore the castle for a while, and come back to me at 9. Off you go, then," said the cold voice.

Thames checked her watch. Seven-twenty. She had promised Severus to meet the Three Broomsticks at ten. She made a mental note to leave at a quarter to nine.

But then she froze. She heard two sets of feet heading away, but she also heard another set, much softer, heading in her direction. Leaving was all she could think of. Straightening herself, she saw the owner of the soft steps was right in front of her. Thames opened her mouth and gaped at him.

"Oh, hello, my name is-" the boy began, but Thames cut him with a shush. "Pretend you haven't seen me," she whispered, slowly backing away. "Wait-" he said, yet once again cut. "I'm not supposed to be here," Thames said, trying to explain quickly. The boy looked puzzled.

"I... I sneaked in here," Thames muttered. Then she turned and ran away. The more she speaks, the more troublesome the whole situation turns out to be. That's all the boy needed to know. She sneaked in here, no one should know about it, and he shouldn't speak of it to anyone.

Out of curiosity, the boy followed her. Thames didn't know if it was because she exercise too little or was it because he ran fast, but he soon caught up with her. He quite apparently didn't know what to do, because he actually stuck his foot out and tripped her. She fell to the floor on her side with a soft thud. What if she landed on the Niffler?

"What do you think you're doing?" Thames asked as she got up, carefully placing a palm on her rib. "Well, I-" he started. "I just want to know your name." It ended in small, soft voice.

Thames weighed her chances. "Thames," she said, outstretching her hand. "Thames... Evans. You're Draco, if I'm not wrong when I overheard you?" Draco nodded. "Draco Malfoy." he said, shaking her hand.

Thames looked thoroughly shocked. "Malfoy?" she asked. "The pure-blood family?" Draco looked unsure, and nodded.

"How is it like?"

"How is what like?"

"Being pure-blood. I'm a half-blood."

"Oh. Um... It's nothing actually. Just like normal lives."

"But I heard you live in a manor? With a house-elf? And he (or she) cooks for you? You know, all written in books about blood heritage."

"Uh... yeah. But isn't one of your parents pure-blood? Didn't you know that?"

"Um... They're dead?" Thames always regarded the word 'dead' as 'boring'. People in death weren't boring for her. She preferred the term "not living".

It took Draco a while to process what he had just heard. "Well, I'm sorry," he shrugged. "It's alright," Thames chuckled at his response. She was very indifferent to her parents' death, because, well, she knew if her parents had the choice of whom to raise her before they died, they would choose Severus. She trusted him. She believed her parents did too.

"How did you get in?" Draco asked.

"A very secret tunnel," Thame said, grinning.

Draco's eyes glinted. "Show it to me!" he said, excited.

Thames smiled sadly, "I think I better not."

"Why not?"

"If more than one person knows, the chances of getting exposed are larger. Then we'd be expelled before we even get to have our first lesson. I'd not take the risk." She paused.

"Please don't think I'm selfish. I just don't think it necessary for you to be punished if we are caight even though you have nothing to do with it," She said hastily after noticing Draco seemed unhappy about it.

"Wait," Draco said. "You're a Legilimens?"

"What?" Thames was amused. "No! Draco, there's a thing called body language! It's something found out by Muggles. They found out people have these specific sets of poses and actions aligning to each emotion they're feeling."

"Well, how am I supposed to know what stuff Muggles are studying?" Draco huffed while Thames laughed her lungs out.

Whether it was because Thames laughed too hysterically or they were talking too loudly, they'd never know. But what they knew was there were footsteps round the corner.

Thames froze and tried to think what to do. How good it would be to have an Invisibility Cloak, if it even existed. It was only written in Beedle's tales, after all.

"Come on, idiot, run!" Draco whisper-shouted, and pulled Thames by the wrist and started running. Really, this boy may seem short, but he has insufferable speed. Especially insufferable when you're dragged behind him.

They stopped at the bottom of another set of staircases. "Who's here?" They heard Filch's voice roar from the other end of the corridor. "Peeves, it better not be you!"

Thames tried to think of something. She needed to think... She needed to think... She needed to... She needed... Her head shot up. Need!

"Come!" she grabbed Draco's sweating palm and pulled him up, all the way up to the seventh floor. As the two of them panted, Thames realised her pocket felt lighter. The Niffler... it better had not gone to Filch. If it had, then they were doomed. "Please be here, please be here." She looked around and, to her relief, she saw the Niffler stumbling onto the last staircase.

The relief didn't last long, though. Seconds after Thames had bent and picked the Niffler up, her eyes met ones with slit-like pupils- Voldemort.

no, just kidding. Something worse than Voldemort.

Mrs Norris. Thames gulped and Mrs Norris let out a soft meow. That could be the worst thing she'd heard after seconds of relief.

"Go go go go go!" she pushed Draco and the two raced down the hallway. However, Thames stopped in front of a wall of nothing, and started to pace around thinking only one thing. I need a place to hide... I need a place to hide... I need a place to hide... I need to hide the Niffler, oh gosh...

"What are you doing? We're getting caught!" Draco hissed as he heard footsteps, and, worst of all, the nastiest voice simpering "They're near, my love... Whoever's here will be tortured so bad..." Draco tugged Thames's sleeve in frantic despair.

Then the door finally materialised in front of them. The two rushed in and slammed the door shut as quietly as they could. They listened as Filch continued to mutter the most horrible torturement through the door, heart beating so hard Thames felt her lungs squeezed between her ribs and heart she couldn't breathe. Then, they finally heard Filch saying "They've gone, my love... We will catch them next time..." and fading footsteps.

Thames sucked in air as if breathing for the first time after an hour underwater. Draco went limp and sat with his back to the door.

"I should try befriending the cat next time," heaved Thames.

That's when she took in a good look of the Room of Requirement they were in. It was full of towering shelves, stuffed with all sorts of stuff, most of which were placed in weird fashion. For example, a painting of a warlock was draped with a shirt that was splattered with something red Thames hoped wasn't blood. The warlock scowled at it, and his eyes were weird, too. One was a normal eye with green iris, but the other, with its sclera black and iris a bright yellow. There was a long scar across the warlock's face. Thames shivered at what could have happened to him.

"Should we leave now?" Draco asked, attempting to stand up shakily.

"No, I don't think so," Thames said absent-mindedly, wandering into the aisles. "There are windows. There may be a Cleansweep or Tinderblast here."

"Tinderblast?" Draco asked.

"Yes, a broomstick manufactured in 1940s." (those are facts people i did my research i'm so proud of myself)

Draco stayed silent. Then he asked incredulously, "You want us to _fly out of here_? You're nuts."

"That's not a very nice thing to say to someone you just met fifteen minutes ago and that someone also spared you a meeting with Argus Filch, someone that is unquestionably the most hated person in Hogwarts's history of existence."

Draco sighed. "Alright. But all these brooms are broken. Now what?"

"I'm sure we'll find a wand somewhere. Probably an old wand, or a malfunctioning one, or a stolen one. Then we can perform a Summoning spell and take some Comet 260s from the broom shed." Thames wasn't very fond of showing her somewhat weird gift in performing wandless magic in front of someone she just met.

"Let's go in deeper, Draco. I'm sure we'll find something."


	4. Horks

"What do you think we can get in here except crap?" Draco said, kicking aside a broom snapped in half.

Thames didn't answer.

"You have been totally normal the whole day today until five minutes ago you suggest looking for a broom or a wand and then you stop talking or even turning around and just keep on walking ahead," Draco huffed, while Thames kept going forward, ignoring the mess on the floor and on the shelves, eyes fixed ahead.

"Are you actually looking for something other than a wand or broom? Hello? Can you hear me? ARE YOU DEAF?" Draco didn't mean to, but he ended up roaring.

"Keep silent, Draco, don't you feel there's something... unnatural going on?" She said in an absent-minded voice.

"No, because the most unnatural thing here is us. We're the only living things in here. Everything else is everything but human."

"Oh well, there's the head of a house-elf for some reason," said Thames, looking around for the first time since she acted like she was in a trance. "How can here be so messy?"

"Because of students like us running away from teachers, I guess."

Thames laughed. "We're not even students here. Oh right, when are you attending Hogwarts?" This would probably be the first actual conversation they had. What they had before was total confusion and running around.

"Next year. You?"

"Also next year."

"I do hope I won't be in Hufflepuff. Stupid house."

"What? Hufflepuffs are nice!"

"Well, then go join them."

"You're going to offend someone someday, if you haven't already." Thames said seriously.

"What house do you think you're going to be in, then?" Draco said, turning to examine a circular book. "This room sure does have every weird thing on the world," he muttered.

"I just don't want to be in Gryffindor. They're a bit too noisy and reckless, if you're asking me. I'd rather be in a cozy quiet room reading a book. Ravenclaw, I guess."

"With that Niffler, you'd pretty much fit in with them. Remember the once when Hogwarts was on the headlines because someone sneaked out of school and looked for a zebra or something? Just because they're curious what noise they make? That's a Ravenclaw. You can join them in learning about why do Nifflers sniff where jewelleries are at. Speaking of which, where has it gon- Hey!"

Thames turned around and saw Draco taking off after something. "You damn Niffler! Give me back my watch!" Thames heard Draco say, and, understand that the Niffler must have stolen Draco's watch when neither of them were noticing.

She tried her best to stifle a laugh, then hurried to follow the two of them.

With much effort they managed to wrestle the Niffler into a still position and Thames fished in its pouch for the watch. She found it pretty fast, and held it in front of her eyes to look at it closely. It was probably made of silver, glimmering in the sunlight from the window. The hands and numbers were blinding golden. The strap, though, was made of leather. But the leather was a beautiful brown, and surprisingly smooth. Turning the watch around, Thames could see the name "Malfoy" etched into the back perfectly in the Balqis font.

"Uh, can you give it back?" Draco huffed.

"Oh. Sure," Thames said hastily, handing it back. Then she took the squirming Niffler from Draco, stuffed it into her pocket and buttoned her pocket.

"Well, let's go, then," Thames turned and started walking deeper into the mess.

"Come on, it's, like, five minutes to eight now. We can surely get out of here safely. Who would still be here at this time?" Draco asked.

Thames stood for a second. "I guess you're right," she shrugged. "Let's go back. Oh look, an Oakshaft 79! That's _vintage_, Draco! Many collectors look for it for years! And few actually possess it, you know. Too bad its handle has been broken. We could have sold it for Galleons."

"Let's go," Draco said in a tired voice.

Thames's lingered on the broomstick for another moment, then she followed Draco, who was trying to trace their route.

"How could we have gone this deep?" Draco scowled at all the books and junk around. "And has this place ever been cleaned?"

As Thames jogged to keep up with Draco's marching, something glinting caught her eye. She stopped and turned to get a better look. It was a tiara of crystals, shaped like an eagle, with a large, oval sapphire in the middle of it.

"Draco," she whispered. "Look at this." Draco, who was a far way ahead now, obviously didn't heard her.

She turned to call him. "Draco!" she said excitedly, breathlessly. "Look at it! The diadem of Ravenclaw!"

She could hear Draco groaning. Then, unwillingly, he turned around. Even far away, he could see her hazel eyes glittering in excitement. "The diadem of Ravenclaw? That's lost centuries ago, Thames. You must have recognised something else as it."

"Well, if you don't believe me, come up and see it yourself," Thames said. "Come on, come here! Look at it! And tell me whether it is or not!"

And so Draco walked back to Thames reluctantly. He turned and stared at the diadem for a good moment, before opening his mouth to say something, yet closing it again. "So? Is it the diadem of Ravenclaw?" Thames asked smugly.

Draco did some quick thinking. "What if it's just a replica of the diadem? The person who made it realised it doesn't work, and abandoned it here?" He was not willing to lose any arguement or fight to anyone, even small ones, especially to this cheeky girl. Not without a struggle.

Thames thought for a moment. "Well, then we just have to test it out, don't we?" She suggested. Draco blinked.

He thought for a moment. "No, I don't think we should," he concluded his thoughts, thumb resting on his pointy chin. "It's left here among the mess for a reason. Maybe it's dangerous and affects brain function."

"Oh," Thames said softly. "Never thought of that."

"You're reckless," Draco said hopelessly. "Perhaps you're a fit for Gryffindor, too."

"No, I'm not, Draco. Come on, it's the diadem of Ravenclaw! A lost relic! How can anyone _not _be excited?" Draco glanced at her pocket. "And don't get me started on the Niffler. It's trembling in a dark, muddy tunnel when I found it," Thames huffed.

Draco was looking defeated when suddenly he remembered the trance Thames had been in earlier. "What about that 'unnatural something'? You said so earlier."

Thames blinked. Then she turned and looked at the diadem. "Thinking of it, the diadem looks like there's something trapped in it. Something _alive_ is trapped in it..." she muttered, head tilting, expression thoughtful.

Draco thought for a moment. "What if it's one of those... Horks? Or what is it?" he thought.

"Horks?" Thames turned around, brows knitted together in confusion.

"I don't quite remember, but I think Father may have mentioned it once or twice... He once held what looked like a notebook and murmured to himself. I couldn't hear clearly, but he definitely said something like "Horks"... that "Horks", or whatever it is, contains a part of... soul? Something like that." Draco tried to recall what had his father said.

"'Horks'? Soul? How have I never heard or read of that?" Thames, too, looked back into her memories.

The two stayed silent for a while. "Well," Thames said, "what do you think? Weighing our chances, I think touch it or try it on for a second wouldn't hurt."

"I don't know," said Draco, "that sounds risky."

"How about this," Thames said, "I try it on. If anything weird happens, you run and grab it off my head. You have speed fast enough, you probably won't be hurt."

"How am I supposed to know if it's a pure headache when the 'wisdom' is transferred into your brain or is there something, like, really, really wrong?" Draco asked. "I've only known you for, like, three quarters of an hour, after all. I don't know what is weird behaviour by your standards."

""Three quarters of an hour'," Thames repeated, "that's... Wouldn't you just say 45 minutes?" Draco shot her a look. "Alright, alright, how about a code?" Thames stopped snickering and asked.

Draco shrugged. "Guess that can be of use."

"Like, after I wear the diadem, you say the code, and if I repeat it, that means I'm fine. If I don't, take it off. Now, what can the code be?" Thames said, looking around.

"I don't know," wondered Draco. "'Oakshaft'?"

"Oooh, that's a nice idea!" Thames agreed. "Let's use it as the code, then. I think you'd like to stand a few feet back."

And so Draco backed to a stack of old school books and magazines that were taller than him.

"Alright? Now, on three, and I will put it on my head," Thames called. She could see Draco nodding. "One, two, three-"

The moment she put the diadem onto her thick, dark red hair, Thames could only feel pain emitting from the spot where the diadem lay, and her skull aching like they were splitting in half. The pain snaked down her neck, and she felt a stab of pain in her chest. It probably only happened in one, single second, because she had not heard Draco asking "Oakshaft?" until the pain had buried itself in something deeper than her heart. Something so deep like her _soul_.

Thames felt like she had been rid of air. Her lungs felt like they had been squeezed. But the pain in her head was stronger than anything. She could hear Draco calling her name anxiously. She shook her head, hoping that Draco knew this was meaning she wasn't fine and she needed help.

Draco didn't know what to do. He stood there and watched Thames. She looked like she was in pain, and her face had gone horribly white. He hesitated, before darting forward and pulled the diadem of her head.

The moment his hand closed around the silver, he felt his palm burning. Without thinking, he threw the diadem onto the floor, and turned to look at Thames.

Thames, on the other hand, wanted to throw up. Although the diadem was taken off, the stinging still snaked around somewhere near her insides. She could feel her knees quivering, beads of sweat trickling down her temples. She stared at her hands, which were on her knees.

It was a long before Draco opened his mouth to say something, but Thames cut him off. "I don't know, but I don't think there's anything wrong with me. For now."

Thames raised her head from staring at the floor and looked at Draco. The second Draco's grey eyes met Thames's, he froze. Her irises were blood red, and her pupils had become slit-like. Looking oddly like something, someone he had seen somewhere a long time ago, something that he was scared of, though he could remember nothing more of who, or what was it.

Thames didn't know what happened. Draco simply stood before her, eyes wide, with something like... fear? Or was it confusion? "Draco?" she asked tentatively.

Draco tried to focus on Thames's eyes again. However, the red had gone, and the slit-like pupils had morphed back into the normal, round ones. Before him were a pair of normal hazel eyes.

"Draco? Is there something wrong?" Thames asked. "No, nothing," Draco answered, still staring at her eyes, though his creased eyebrows said otherwise.

"Do you still want to explore Hogwarts? You have forty minutes left," Thames asked, colour coming back on her face, a hint of her cheeky grin shown. "How about the Astronomy Tower? I really like it. A clear view of everything." "Oh, uh, sure."

Thames slowly straightened and Draco waited, still thinking. _He **had **seen those eyes somewhere... Tales of Beedle? No... where could it be?_

"Right. Let's go," Thames said. But as she stepped out, her knees buckled and she nearly fell. Thanks to one of the tall towers of books, she had something to hold onto and didn't hit the floor face first.

As Draco helped her to stand firmly on the ground, Thames reached up and wiped the sweat on her sleeve, pushing her fringe back. "Wait," Draco said, surprised, "You have a scar!"

"What? I've never had a scar on my forehead before. Who do you think I am, Harry Potter?"

"No, really, look into a mirror!"

And so when Thames looked into the nearest mirror, she saw, a thin scar zigzagging across her forehead, exactly where she had put the diadem on her head.

Thames swivelled around to look at the diadem. It laid on the floor, and the circle was glowing a dangerous orange-red, like it had just been out of the furnace.

"Let's go," Draco said softly, desperately, scared, and this time Thames obeyed.


	5. AN (yeah i'm back i'm surprised too)

it's just... woah. the pandemic brought me back to this. school's closed and i was digging through old emails and am reminded of this. i think i will pick this up again, though certainly my writing style (if that's what you call) has changed quite a lot. heck, i haven't even been writing lately except for that Abraham Lincoln essay i did last week.

and yes, i am aware that i have left this for two-thirds of a year and i am very sorry about it. i will probably continue this while going back and tweaking some things here or there.

and i am very anxious here, 'cause i have sort of left the hp fandom for quite some time and i don't think i will remember specific terms here or there and so, please bear with me if i have made any mistakes. school has been quite messy and with the pandemic barging in right after new year (for where i live, that is) i will need quite a lot of time to get through homework and all sorts of things, so i probably wouldn't update as frequently.

thanks for reading through this (if you didn't, tldr: i got lazy, left this for a while, and now i'm back)


End file.
